“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Nelson Mandela

What We Do

The Case for 3D Printing in Classrooms

Rapid technological advances prompt two main issues: a growing digital and tech skills gap, as well as increased automation. These factors put pressure on both workers and businesses.

In an ideal world, monotonous jobs are done by machines, while the fun, creative tasks are reserved for people, and this collaboration between humans and robots yields immense productivity that improves living standards across communities and societies.

Without rethinking the way we educate and train people, we are stuck in a world where discrepancies between job roles and skill levels result in widespread, sustained inequality. Education is a medium for both children and adults to discover what they enjoy and are good at, and this discovery should be personal and exciting.

3D printing is proved to increase engagement in classrooms, across multiple subjects, and the creative freedom it fosters promotes personalized learning for pupils of all abilities. For this ability to make learning fun, while challenging, and the potential for cross-curriculum learning, we see 3D printing as one major step towards this ideal world.

Benefits

Future engineers, architects, designers, entrepreneurs and many others will, from a young age, be equipped with the skills necessary to thrive in evolving industries. Traditional manufacturing sectors like automotive and aeronautics are already adopting additive manufacturing technologies at an accelerating rate. Apart from changing the face of traditional manufacturing industries, 3D printing is also influencing productivity in many other sectors, such as architecture, industrial design, healthcare, and construction.

However, the main benefit of leveraging 3D printing in classrooms goes beyond the direct link with these industries. Having access to 3D printers enables students to fully explore their creative potential. Whether it is for specific projects in science, technology, and arts, or just for personal endeavours like building a custom board game, or fixing something around the house, the ability to directly connect the thread between imagination and reality is fundamentally powerful and opens up new potential, unbounded by previous physical limitations.